Adam Carolla defended his former “Man Show” co-host Jimmy Kimmel after the late night host issued an apology for acting on blackface in the past.
Kimmel offered an apology on Tuesday after being criticized for using a black face in old sketches where he posed as former NBA player Karl Malone. Other routines have recently come to light, like imitating rapper Snoop Dogg’s voice for a song filled with “N-word” on a 1996 Christmas album.
In the Christmas song, a singer mentioned a “fat n —- on a sled giving away,” referring to Santa Claus. The song also referred to “n —– in the manger,” including King Herod’s associates.
Carolla, who co-hosted Comedy Central’s “The Man Show” from 1999 to 2003 alongside Kimmel, discussed the controversy on his podcast on Tuesday for a show that will air on Wednesday.
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“I was saying this years ago and I meant it,” began the comedian. “Blackface is something, doing Karl Malone is doing something else, or doing Oprah is something else, or Mr. T or Jimmy Fallon doing Chris Rock. That’s not black face!
Carolla was referring to a similar incident in which Fallon, Kimmel’s fellow night host, was criticized for appearing black-faced for portraying Rock for a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. Later, Carolla noted that he never met Fallon, but said he “never heard of anything other than being a fun guy and a super nice guy.”
Carolla then spoke directly to the Kimmel character, saying, “Jimmy Kimmel is in my top 3 of all the decent people I’ve ever met. Like, he’s the most decent person you’ve ever met, he’s the most generous person you’ve ever met. I always told you this guys. He is among the best people I have ever met and if everyone were like Jimmy Kimmel we would be living in a shit utopia. “
“They are not part of the problem,” the podcast presenter concluded.
Adam Carolla defended former co-host Jimmy Kimmel, amid the black face controversy.
(Randy Holmes / Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
Kimmel opened his long statement of apology on Tuesday by first noting that he regrets remaining silent on the matter for the time that he did.
“For a long time I have been reluctant to tackle this, as I knew that doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apology with weakness and encourage leaders who use prejudice to divide us. That delay was a mistake. There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were really hurt or offended by the makeup I used or the words I said, “Kimmel told Fox News in a statement.
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The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The host went on to explain that he never looked at his impressions from a racial point of view.
“We hired makeup artists to make me look as much like Karl Malone as possible. I never considered that this could be seen as more than an imitation of a human being, one that had nothing more to do with Karl’s skin color than with his bulging muscles and bald head. I have made dozens of impressions of famous people, including Snoop Dogg, Oprah, Eminem, Dick Vitale, Rosie, and many others. In each case, I thought of them as celebrity personifications and nothing more, “Kimmel said in the statement.
Jimmy Kimmel has recently come under fire for past sketches in which he appeared black-faced.
(ABC)
He added: “Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to lessen my criticism of social and other injustices,” he added.
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Kimmel abruptly announced last Thursday that she will be taking the summer off to spend more time with her family. He has been chosen to host the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. To conclude the statement, he said that his next vacation was planned in advance and that he will return to work in September.
